VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 33,600 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al cut its Caterpillar stake by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 33,600 shares and leaving it with 51,812 shares valued at about $29.7 million.
• Despite some institutional trimming, Caterpillar has continued to attract bullish sentiment: several analysts raised price targets, with Argus lifting its target to $990 and reiterating a Buy rating on expectations for strong demand.
• Caterpillar reported solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with $5.54 EPS and $17.42 billion in revenue, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 33,600 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $877,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 73,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total value of $4,982,055.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,017 shares of company stock worth $81,982,867. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their outlooks on Caterpillar (CAT), including Argus, which lifted its price target to $990 and reiterated a Buy rating on expectations for strong demand and continued momentum. Argus Lifts PT on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Expects Strong Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and other media coverage highlighted Caterpillar as a beneficiary of oil, infrastructure, and AI data-center power demand, reinforcing the bullish “power generation” narrative. Cramer's lightning round: Buy Caterpillar
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar (CAT) released its 2025 Annual and Sustainability Reports, emphasizing record full-year sales and revenue in its centennial year and a strategy centered on profitable growth. Caterpillar Inc. Releases 2025 Annual and Sustainability Reports
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage cited Caterpillar’s strong first-quarter results, upbeat full-year guidance, and continued share buybacks, all of which support the stock’s bullish rerating. Caterpillar (CAT) Is Up 5.9% After Strong Q1, Data Center Power Deal And Buyback Update
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece noted that AI-related power demand is a real opportunity for Caterpillar (CAT), but argued the power-generation segment is still a relatively small part of sales, so investors may want to see broader mix shift before assigning even more upside. Seeking Alpha Caterpillar article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by Anthony Fassino, who sold 16,283 shares, may slightly temper sentiment, though the transaction does not appear large enough to outweigh the stronger business and analyst-driven positives. Anthony Fassino sells Caterpillar shares

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $901.22 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $768.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $675.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $415.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $336.24 and a 1 year high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $911.77.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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